Toilet implement.



F. 0. HILFIKER.

TOILET IMPLEMENT.

APPLICATION FILED ums. |912.

l ,205,894'. Patented Nov. 21, 1916.

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UNITED sTaTs PATENT nie.

FREDERICK O.Y HILFIKER, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, AS1-SIGNOR T0 F. O. HILFIKER CO., OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TOILET IMPLEMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1916.

Original application led April 7', 1911, Serial No. 619,518. Divided and this application led December 9, 1912. Serial No. 735,634.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK O. IIIL- rInER, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toilet Implements; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the .accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to toilet apparatus, and more particularly to massage implements, and it has for its object to provide a device of that character in the nature of a iiesh brush that will be suitable for general massage purposes, lather-ing for shaving or for use in the bath, particularly in connection with a spray head.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means for retaining the iexible brush in the head or holder by which it is carried.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of a massage implement constructed in accordance with and illustrating' one em*- bodiment of my invention, and Fig. 2 is a central section taken substantially on the line 2 2 thereof.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several figures indicate the same parts.

In the present embodiment of the invention, the massage brush is in the nature of an attachment to a spray head or rose such as is used for bathing purposes as this application is a division of my prior application, Serial No. 619,518, filed April 7, 1911, and for the latter reason, a speciiic description of the spray head which constitutes the holder in the present instance, and is claimed in the other case, is not required. Suiiice it to say, therefore, that it may comprise a hollow head 1 annular in shape with a flat foraminous bottom face 2 providing` a plurality of jet openings that jointly produce a hollow cylindrical stream or spray. The head is suitably attached to a ring 3, the terminals of which form a two-part handle 4L and between these handle portions is run the supply pipe 5 connected to the head at 6.

In the practice of my present invention, the head 1 is fitted with a iiesh brush or massage element 7 that is seated within the central opening or socket 8 of the head. I prefer to construct this brush of reasonably soft and'pliable rubber and cup-shaped, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The integral rubber bristles 9 project from the under or outer side of the bottom 10 of the cup, while the side wall or rim 1l is thrust within the socket or opening 8 of the head and, as it is compressed when so inserted, its expansive force and the clinging nature of the material causes it to firmly and frictionally grip the walls of the opening with sufi'icient force to retain the brush in its seat during all ordinary manipulations, though it may be easily and quickly removed with the fingers by compressing it as it is pulled outwardly. The walls of the socket or opening 8 are preferably tapered and the brush is held in the small end so that it will respond with a wedging action upon the exercise of any force tending to pull it from its seat. To make its position even more secure, the brush and socket or, at least, the rim or re taining portion of the latter, may be provided with coperating shoulders 12 and 13,

respectively, that engage and interlock, in

the manner shown in Fig. 2. The shoulder on the rubber cup also gives greater body to its retaining portion and renders its expansive tendency more eifective.

The brush may be inserted from the top or larger side of the opening 19 in the head, in the embodiment shown, by thrusting it through the latter, bristles first, but ordinarily it may be safely made sufficiently small to insert it from the other side by crowding the flanged portion or rim thereof inwardly. The removability of the brush permits different ones having different char acteristics to be interchanged as conditions require, as for instance, coarse and line brushes may be provided with each implement. Also,'the brush may be discarded if it is wished to use the spray head or other compound instrument to which the brush is fitted, alone, or the brush may be itself used alone for massage purposes with or without disconnecting the supply pipe from the head in the present embodiment.

It is again pointed out that the massage brush need not necessarily be connected to a head of the nature described as a plain or other head or holder may be employed, but one preferably fitted with a socket formed similarly to the socket 8 of the present device.

I claim as my invention:

1.' The combination with a head having a central opening` therein extending entirely through the head, of a removable cup-shaped iiesh brush composed of flexible material arranged Within the opening and comprising an inwardly eompressible rim portion frictionally engaging the Walls of' the head, and a relatively transversely extending flexible bristle carrying body portion offset ont- Wardly from the rim portion.

2. The Combination with a head having a central tapered opening, of a removable cup-shaped flesh brush composed of flexible material, arranged Within the smaller end of the opening and having its inwardly compressible rim portion friotionally engaging the inclined Walls of the latter, the body of the brush being also sufliciently flexible to permit of distortion adapting it to be thrust through the opening from the larger side thereof.

3. The combination with a head having a central opening therein, provided with a shoulder on its Walls, of a removable eupshaped flesh brush composed of flexible material arranged Within the opening and having its inwardly eompressible rim 4portion friotionally engaging the Walls of the latter beyond the shoulder.

4. The combination with a head having a central opening therein, of a removable cup-shaped flesh brush composed of flexible material arranged Within the opening and having its inwardly Compressible rim portion frietionally engaging the Walls of the latter, and cooperating retaining shoulders on said rim and the Walls of the opening.

FREDERICK o.Y HILFIKER.

Vitnesses GEO. F. Sax, vWM. H. JONES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addressing the` Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

